Make McDonald's Chicken Nugget Dupes With Just 3 Base Ingredients

McDonald's is known for many things, including its signature Big Mac, McFlurry, fries, and chicken nuggets. Although these nuggets have had their fair share of criticism, many McDonald's customers adore the signature chicken and dipping sauces. What's not to love? These nuggets come in four signature shapes, they're affordable, and they're even some of the "healthiest" fast food chicken nuggets when compared to other popular chains. For those who love ordering McDonald's nuggets, there's an easy copycat recipe for when you want to try making them at home.

All you need are three base ingredients: ground chicken, flour, and club soda (or other carbonated water). Benefits of ordering fast food include saving time and money when you're in a pinch, but making a copycat recipe at home allows you to control what goes into your meal. This can be particularly helpful for individuals with food allergies or those seeking to add a personal touch to a popular fast food item.

To begin making delicious McDonald's chicken nuggets at home, gather your base ingredients first. Then, you'll want to decide on which seasonings you'll use to add some flavor to your nuggets. You can try adding ingredients like salt, garlic, onion powder, or a premade seasoning blend, such as Old Bay. To add more spice, try using cayenne, chili powder, or smoked paprika.

Once all your ingredients are prepared, add the flour and seasonings to the ground chicken and shape it into nuggets. If you have time, go ahead and freeze them for about 30 minutes so they can hold their shape better. Unlike standard fried chicken, where you toss the chicken in a separate wet batter and dry flour coating, you'll want to combine the flour and club soda for this nugget batter. The carbonation in the club soda allows for more air to crisp up the nuggets as they cook. 

With your nuggets coated in the wet batter, they'll be ready to fry in hot oil. Once they cook to completion and develop a crunchy crust, you'll have the perfect copycat McDonald's nuggets to enjoy. For the ultimate sides, you can make fries that taste just like McDonald's and recreate the Big Mac sauce at home by combining a few common sauces.